


Ari and The Year That Changed Everything

by RELYCH



Series: The Magical Life of Ari Black-Snape [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bisexual Sirius Black, Child Abuse, F/M, Gay Severus Snape, Good Draco Malfoy, Good Lucius Malfoy, Good Malfoy Family (Harry Potter), Good Narcissa Black Malfoy, James Potter Lives, James Potter is a Good Friend, Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape Friendship, M/M, Minor Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy, Severus Snape Has a Heart, Sirius Black & James Potter Friendship, Supportive Narcissa Black Malfoy, Trans Male Character, Transphobia, also at the beginning only, at the beginning only
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:42:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25603006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RELYCH/pseuds/RELYCH
Summary: Ari Smith grew up going from foster home to foster home; nobody wanted him because he always knew that he was born in the wrong body. He is kicked out of his latest foster home when Severus Snape comes to tell him about Hogwarts; Severus brings the boy to his house to stay until a proper home is available. Will the proper home be with Severus?Ari befriends Henry Potter and Draco Malfoy along the way, learns about the Sorcerer's Stone, and loves almost every minute of his first year at Hogwarts.*****This will be a retelling of the Harry Potter series, featuring a transgender male lead character. Tags might be updated as I go.I do not own Harry Potter, and will not be making any money from this story.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Severus Snape
Series: The Magical Life of Ari Black-Snape [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1855687
Comments: 9
Kudos: 16





	1. Altered Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is just my spin on the attack of the Potter's house on Godric's Hollow that sets up all the initial changes to the story. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading!

Lucius Malfoy sat amongst the Inner Circle, minus Severus, desperately hiding the horror he was feeling; the Dark Lord lost Lucius’s support when Narcissa had been punished for disrupting a meeting by feeding Draco. The Dark Lord had originally pointed his wand at the baby, but Narcissa took the curse; Lucius would not let his loyalty lie in a man that would harm an innocent child, especially his child. Narcissa had convinced Lucius to continue earning the Dark Lord’s favour until he had a significant enough piece of information to hand over to Dumbledore, so his family could be protected by the Light. 

Severus had told the Dark Lord about the procephy long ago, and the Dark Lord had decided the prophecy meant one of the Potter’s twins at the beginning of the year and would kill them both. This decision was made less than a week after punishing Narcissa, and Lucius' decision to defect. Since the announcement that he would be going after the Potter’s, Lucius had continuously lied through his teeth to learn any information to help save the twins. The news that horrified Lucius was that the Potter’s had trusted a spy, and now the Dark Lord knew the location of their hiding place; the Dark Lord planned to kill the boys on Halloween, as his magic would be stronger than normal then. Halloween was in less than three weeks. Lucius knew what he needed to do; he needed to discover the rat in the Potter’s midst and reveal them. 

Two weeks after the date of the Potter’s massacre was announced, Lucius saw a small, mousy man slip out of the room the Dark Lord plotted in and glance both ways before becoming a literal rat; _how ironic_ , Lucius thought to himself. He carefully occluded the image and his thoughts and thought of another secret to more securely hide the thoughts, knowing the Dark Lord would know that he wanted to keep something hidden. He went into the Dark Lord’s presence, suffered through that terrible meeting, and went home to Narcissa. 

“How should I proceed, my love?” 

Narcissa seemed to think her response over, before offering her council, “You and I have our suspicions that Severus is not truly a spy for the Dark Lord, but instead a spy for Dumbledore; this is why we decided to entrust him to be Godfather for Draco. Severus loves Lily Potter, we know this from how he begged the Dark Lord to have mercy. Dumbledore will not entertain us directly, so we should tell Severus what you have learned.”

Lucius considered his wife’s advice, and decided that it was a reasonable course of action, although he was slightly worried that Severus was truly the Dark Lord’s spy. He looked at his son, who would grow up in a world ruled by the monster he had foolishly followed at his own father's request. Deciding to risk it to potentially create a safer world for his son, he turned to Narcissa and said, “Take Draco and disappear, somewhere the Dark Lord will not find you. I will not be joining you, but will contact you if it is safe. I do not want you in harm’s way if Severus is not loyal to Dumbledore.” Narcissa nodded and left to start packing. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Severus walked to the front door and silently cursed when he saw who it was. He let Lucius Malfoy in with a pleasant enough greeting, but he was desperately trying to remember if he had anything laying out that would reveal his hand as a spy. He led Lucius through to the parlour and nearly audibly breathed in relief over seeing that nothing suspicious was on the table. He offered Lucius a drink and sat when Lucius refused. 

Looking at his friend now that he was longer afraid, he saw that the blonde man looked anxious and slightly fearful himself. It was hidden, of course, but Severus still saw it in the fake smile and whiteness of the knuckles gripping the cane. Severus wondered what was going through the man’s head, and decided to wait for Lucius to bring it up. He asked about Draco, still surprised that he was the boy’s godfather as he did not believe he was all that close to the Malfoy’s. Lucius answered that the boy was doing well and then brought up what was on his mind. 

“I am unsure if you know the plan completely, but the Dark Lord has chosen a date to attack the Potter’s.” Severus had to occlude and school his face to be impassive, but he had not known that the Dark Lord had a day in mind. How did he know where the Potter’s were? “The Dark Lord has a spy that the Potter’s trusted their location with.” 

The thoughts were racing in Severus’s mind, but he knew he needed to learn the date of the attack from Lucius. He wasn’t exactly sure how he would convince Lucius to tell him the date, but he did not need to worry with that. Lucius had seen the very brief flash of fear in Severus’s eyes before the man slammed his mental shields in place. 

“He will be going to their house on Halloween, as his magic will be stronger then.” Of course, that made sense, Severus thought. He looked up at Lucius wondering why the man was telling him this without prompt; he grimaced, it was probably a trap designed by the Dark Lord to learn his true allegiance. 

“It is a wise plan, not that we would expect anything else from the Dark Lord.” The words nearly stuck in his throat, so acute was his fear. He knew though that he needed to deliver this information in some way to the Potters or Dumbledore. Lucius inclined his head, and then brought his wand up to his temple. Severus watched as he projected an image of Peter Pettigrew into the room, and wondered why Lucius was showing him a picture of that cowardly follower. 

“This is the Dark Lord’s informant. I’ll see myself out, Severus.” 

Severus watched him stand up and leave, but he was glued to his seat. He knew better than to trust anybody, but if this was true, the Potter’s had less than a week. He went to the floo and started to call Dumbledore, but if he was right that this was a test, then they would expect that. He bit his lip and thought of what he should do. The answer came to him quickly, though he hated the idea; he would tell Sirius Black, who nobody would have expected him to ever willingly speak to. They would not track his movements if he looked for Black, as they would not know he was searching for anyone and would think him to be just going about his life. He regularly saw Sirius Black on Diagon Alley, who was still an active Auror, so he would start there. He stood up and began his search for his greatest enemy. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sirius walked down Diagon Alley, keeping an eye out for any evil doers; he loved being an Auror, but it was a scary time. He thought of James hidden under the _Fidelius Charm_ in Godric’s Hollow and sighed. They had been there for over six months and James was going stir crazy. James and Lily were also a little upset that they wouldn’t be able to take the boys out for Halloween in four days. Sirius hoped the war would be over soon, but it didn’t look like it would be. 

Suddenly he was pulled into an alley and he was silenced by a _Silencio_ ; he then saw that his captor was none other than Snivellus. He glared at the greasy git and started struggling. Snivellus let him go, but spun around to face him. Sirius felt sick being this close to the bastard. 

“Look, Black, you have no other choice than to believe me. I am Dumbledore’s spy.” Yeah right, Sirius thought, and I’m the Muggle Prime Minister. “I’ve been looking for you for two days, but two days ago I discovered that the Dark Lord is planning to attack the Potter’s on Halloween.” 

Sirius stilled and desperately tried to think. Snivellus couldn’t be right, how could he be? Voldemort didn’t know where James and Lily were. What was his reason for lying, though? Severus glanced at him. 

“My information might be faulty, though, because the person who told me also said that Peter Pettigrew was the Dark Lord’s informant.” 

Sirius’s mind went blank because it couldn’t be, but how else would Snape know that Peter was the Secret Keeper. 

“I do not believe that even you or Potter would be dumb enough to let that coward be aware of vital information, maybe the werewolf but never Pettigrew. I hope I am not wrong, mutt.” 

Snape left as quickly as he came, and Sirius stood in the alley stunned. Surely Snape was lying. Looking around, he decided to go ask Peter himself, then stopped himself. What if Snape wasn’t lying, and Peter ran to Voldemort saying they needed to move now. Cursing, Sirius grabbed his head to try and think about what to do. 

Sirius decided to follow Peter and see if there was anything suspicious going on. Four days later, Halloween afternoon, he saw his friend talking to Bellatrix, and cursed as he realized Pettigrew was most certainly a rat. He confronted Pettigrew and was briefly engaged in a duel with Bellatrix as the rat scurried away. When Bellatrix escaped, he sent a quick patronus to James and hoped that he took the boys and Lily out of there quickly. He set off after Pettigrew, but had no idea how to even start the search. Going home to try and find something that could aid his search, he saw James in his flat. James lifted his wand and narrowed his eyes. Sirius looked around for Lily and the boys, and hoped they were safe

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

James was holding Henry when the patronus burst into his house; James barely had time to blink before the dog spoke in Siri’s voice. 

“Peter is a rat. You’re in danger. Hurry and leave, Voldemort’s attacking tonight.” 

Lily had also been in the room, holding Harry, so he looked over to his wife. She stared at where the patronus had been, and he wondered what to do. He trusted Siri with his life, but Peter would never betray them. Sirius was the one with the dark family, and his cousins and brother were Death Eaters. It would be easy for Sirius to join Voldemort. 

“I need to talk to him, face to face.” James looked over at his wife as he said this. She looked at him and nodded. “He might have gone over, or he could be right. Stay here with the babies until I find out.”

“If he’s right, then Voldemort could be on his way over now.” 

“I can’t believe that Peter would betray us, but I can see Siri changing sides. Until we know for sure, the house has the best protection. I won’t be longer than a moment” 

Lily nodded and James grabbed his wand. He apparated to Sirius’s flat and let himself in. Sirius wasn’t at home, which gave James a little longer to think about it. Sirius had been the one to convince him to change Secret Keepers, so why would he be the one that betrayed James? To give the family a sense of fake confidence, James decided. It was also why Sirius convinced them not to tell Remus or Dumbledore. Sirius had slowly been alienating the family, and sowing the seeds of mistrust. 

Sirius walked into the flat, and looked pained. James raised his wand and narrowed his eyes at the traitor. Sirius saw James and looked around, his face morphing into one of panic. Probably because James didn’t bring his sons so that Sirius could deliver them to Voldemort. James wanted to send a curse at his best friend, but refrained from it until he spoke face to face with the traitor. 

“Where’s Lily and the boys? We need to get them! Pettigrew and Bellatrix escaped!” 

“I don’t believe you. Why would Peter be the traitor? You, however, come from an entire family of dark wizards and Death Eaters!” James felt a little queasy as Sirius’s mouth dropped open. 

“Me? I’m not a bloody traitor, James! Merlin, we don’t have time for this! We need to get your family to safety.” 

“Prove you’re not the traitor, and I might start to believe you.” Sirius blinked then grabbed his hair. 

“My family of dark wizards and Death Eaters disowned me, why would I ever join them?” 

“To regain your inheritance, or blood is thicker than water.” 

“That’s bullshite! I don’t care about the inheritance, or my blood!” Sirius exploded. 

James started to lower his wand, and bit his lip. Maybe Sirius was telling the truth. “What makes you think that Peter is a traitor, or that Voldemort is attacking tonight?” 

“Snape grabbed me a few days ago, told me that he just learnt Voldemort was planning to attack you at the house in Godric’s Hollow tonight, and said that Pettigrew was the rat. I didn’t believe him, but then I thought how would Snape know that Pettigrew knew anything. I tracked down Pettigrew, followed him for a few days, and saw him meeting with Bellatrix today. I dueled Bellatrix while the rat ran away, and then sent you the message. I swear it’s true, James; we need to go and bring your family to safety!” 

James hesitated, but why would Snape be helping them. He had that weird crush on Lily, but he didn’t think that would cause him to switch sides. Why would Snape give them a heads up? There were too many questions, and James doubted they would all be answered. He needed to make a decision to trust Sirius or Peter; he looked into his best friend’s face, and decided to trust Siri. He hoped it was the right decision.

“Let’s go, and bring Lily and the boys here first. Then we’ll figure out a plan.” 

“Alright, mate.” 

They apparated to a spot in Godric’s Hollow a few meters away from the house, and saw the front door had been blown off the hinges. Cursing, James ran into the house, into the nursery, and nearly into Dumbledore. The man’s customary twinkle in his eye was gone and he sent a mournful look at James. James dropped to his knees. All he could think was that if he trusted Sirius, they could have been safe. Sirius dropped beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. James stared at the body of his wife. 

“I’m so sorry, my dear boy.” 

James looked up and saw Dumbledore holding Henry, and then realized that Henry was alive. Standing up, he took his son from Dumbledore, and looked at Harry. His heart shattered a second time, more sharply this time, when he saw his other son was not breathing. 

“What happened? Where’s Voldemort?” 

Dumbledore looked away and sighed. 

“I can only speculate, but I will tell you what I believed happened. When Voldemort turned his wand on little Harry and hit the infant with the spell, the horror of the act caused a rebound effect that hit Voldemort and caused a bit of an explosion.” 

James nodded, and looked down at his son. He could only think of how it was all his fault, and how he would never let this little boy be harmed. Sirius spoke to Dumbledore. 

“So Voldemort is gone?” 

“Yes, he is gone for now. I don’t believe he will be gone forever. I wonder how he knew of this place, though.” 

“I convinced James and Lily to switch their Secret Keeper to Peter Pettigrew; I believed that everybody would expect me to hold the secret, and nobody would expect him.” 

“Ah.” Dumbledore didn’t seem surprised, but James always had believed that the man knew almost everything. The headmaster let himself out, and Sirius placed his hand on James’s shoulder again. James looked up at his best friend and then at his wife’s corpse. 

“If I would have trusted you, you would have trusted Snape, and neither of us trusted Pettigrew, we could have saved them.” Sirius looked unbearably sad, and nodded. 

James would mourn his wife and son, would want to murder the rat, and would eventually continue living to raise his other son as best as he could. A couple years down the road when Henry was three, he would honor Lily’s wish that if Severus changed sides, she wanted him to be the secondary godfather to the boys, now only Henry; it surprised both Severus and Sirius when he asked the man, and it surprised James when Severus accepted a few weeks later. By the time Henry was five, James had fostered a friendship with Severus based on their love of Lily, and James would eventually learn that Severus never truly loved Lily in a romantic sense, as the man had realized his sexuality after Hogwarts. James would watch amused as Severus and Sirius started a relationship fueled by their hatred of the other when Henry was seven, then morph into an actual relationship years later. On Henry’s eleventh birthday, James thought that he had done a decent job raising Henry so far, and it helped that he had relied on his friends in some areas so Henry was well-rounded. James knew that Henry would be a much better kid than James himself had been in Hogwarts.


	2. The Letter and Diagon Alley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet Ari, and he learns he's a wizard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Child abuse, bit of language, and transphobia in this chapter, but that'll be the last of it other than the language part.  
> So the last chapter set up the new universe I have in mind, and I want to have the rest of the story through Ari's viewpoint.  
> Thanks for reading!

Ari Smith woke up in the bottom bunk in a bedroom shared with three other children; his foster father yelling for him and he sounded pissed. Ari cringed. He hated this foster family because they were so cruel; they were always yelling about something, and most of the time Ari didn’t know why they were yelling at him. Well he knew the real reason, but he usually didn’t know what they were specifically yelling about at the time. He used to try and ignore the part of him that made everyone so angry, but ignoring the truth about him made him sick. He went to the small bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror; he hated what he saw. 

Ari knew that he was born wrong, and he hated knowing that because it made his foster families dislike him. He was a boy, not a girl. His name is Ari, not Ariana. He should have boy clothes, and a boy haircut; instead he was forced to wear dresses and keep his hair long. Ari stared with intense dislike at his long, wavy blonde hair, and was very thankful that he was permitted to put it back instead of only letting it fall loose. He shut his eyes when he saw the small amount of make-up on the counter, because they expected him to start using it soon. He was almost eleven, which was past the age that he should have started experimenting with the make-up in their minds. 

Ari shoved all of those thoughts out of his mind and brushed his teeth. He knew there was no use arguing about it; the arguing was what got him kicked out of the last three foster families and placed with the Clarke’s. The Clarke’s were known for their extremely strict parenting style, which was why only the massive troublemakers were placed with them. Ari didn’t believe that he was that big of a troublemaker, but adults thought he was always being bad. He darkly thought that his social worker, Mrs. Bennett, would be pleased over how often Ari was disciplined. Ari finished in the bathroom and walked down into the kitchen. Mrs. Clarke was at the stove, and Mr. Clarke was reading a newspaper; the other three kids that lived in the house stopped eating and watched eagerly. They always enjoyed watching someone else get in trouble. Mr. Clarke looked over his newspaper at Ari and sneered. 

“Girl, didn’t you hear me call you down earlier?” He barked; he never seemed to speak in any other tone than a bark. 

“No sir,” Ari said as meekly as he could; meek was the easiest way to speak to the couple to avoid trouble. 

“Well, then maybe I should box your ears so they’ll work better in the future!” Ari swallowed down the slight fear; if he was already threatening physical punishment, Ari was not in for an easy day. 

“I’m sorry sir; I’ll do better next time.” 

“You better, you ungrateful swine. Go out back and sort out all the flower beds. When that’s done, come back in for your next round of chores. Don’t expect any food until the entire list is done.” Ari nodded at Mrs. Clarke; she didn’t usually physically punish any of the kids, but she was constantly withholding food from them.

Ari walked out the back door, cursing the Clarke’s. He hated them both, and thought the cruel couple deserved each other. He didn’t see how either of them could stand to look at each other or be married to the other as they were both hideous in Ari’s opinion. Mrs. Clarke was average sized, but the years of spite had stolen all of her looks. Mr. Clarke was tall and had huge muscles, which made him even more terrifying. Ari supposed that their personalities were what made them so hideous as they weren’t actually ugly.

He had been working on the flower beds for at least three hours when he heard the back door open. He looked up and saw Mrs. Clarke staring at him with a strange look on her face. He bit back a sigh and wondered what he had done this time. Her face quickly transformed into a sneer, much like her husband’s, and she said, “Girl, there’s a professor here to talk to you! Come inside and wash up.” 

Ari stood a little confused, but followed her inside. He wondered what a professor wanted to talk to him for. He washed up and followed Mrs. Clarke into the sitting area where a tall, lean man was standing. The man had black hair that went to his shoulders, which Ari thought was as long as he would ever want his own hair, black eyes, and a pretty big nose. He was wearing a button-down shirt, and oddly a pair of trousers with rips in them which seemed to be a smidge too small for him. The man looked at Ari with an unreadable expression on his face before looking back to Mrs. Clarke. He spoke in a low voice, “Can I have a minute alone with Mr. Smith?” 

Ari was shocked, how did this man know? Then he saw Mrs. Clarke's face cloud over with rage, and her whole body started slightly shaking. When she spoke, her voice was shaking with her fury and it was directed at Ari. “You little bitch! How dare you involve someone else in your absurd fantasies? Where did you meet him, and what did you do to convince him to do this? I didn’t believe even you would be so low to make yourself a little slut over this, but I guess I was wrong.” 

Mrs. Clarke’s hand connected with Ari’s cheek, and he had to bite back a shout of surprise. He hadn’t even seen the hand coming. He was also confused at her last statement; he knew what a slut was, but he didn’t understand what she was implying. The man apparently did, though, and his eyes blazed with fury as well. He marched over to Mrs. Clarke and grabbed her hand when it raised to slap Ari again. He spun her around and spoke in a very menacing voice. 

“I do not care for your accusation, and I will not tolerate you hitting this child again.” 

He released her hand and then took a step back. Mrs. Clarke whirled around to him, and then shouted in a shrill voice. 

“Take her, then! My husband and I have tried to stop her foolishness, but she just keeps on with it. We’ve had it, you hear! We’ve had it, and she will not be staying another day with us!” Mrs. Clarke stomped off out of the room, and he knew she would be calling Mrs. Bennett. Ari could not believe that Mrs. Clarke was kicking him out like this; the rest of the families had at least called Mrs. Bennett to take him. Ari looked up at the man and saw him battling his fury; he wondered what the man would do about Ari. The man looked down at Ari with narrowed eyes before looking back up towards the door. Ari did not believe he was meant to hear what the man was saying to himself, but he could just make it out. 

“Very well. I will explain things to Dumbledore, and see what he wants to do about it.” The man looked down at Ari, and spoke louder, “Pack your things, then. I do not have all day to wait for you.” Ari barely bit back the sigh, _Just another awful adult who did not care about him_. 

“I only have a couple other dresses as things, and since she paid for them, she’ll expect to keep them.” 

The man narrowed his eyes before nodding his head sharply. He walked out of the house and waited at the end of the drive. Ari looked at him, and wondered if he should follow this strange man. Then he looked back into the house and wondered if he would be worse than the Clarke’s if Ari stayed. The man had known that Ari was a boy, which was the deciding factor to trust the stranger. He followed the man to an alley, and hesitated at it’s entrance. Common sense was pushing forward; he had heard stories about what strangers did to kids. Ari didn’t have anyone who would care if he disappeared either. 

The man seemed to notice his hesitancy before breathing out a loud breath. He bent down and pulled out a stick from his trousers, and then flicked it a few times. Ari wondered what the man was doing, but didn’t want to ask. The man then put his stick away, and pulled out a letter. He handed it to Ari. It was addressed,

_Mr. Ari Smith_  
_Left Bottom Bunk_  
_17 Dale Road_  
_Crayford, Bexley_

Ari looked at the letter stunned. How did they know where he slept? Ari was slightly creeped out, but opened the letter to read it. It was fantastic, but Ari was sure that it was fake. Magic didn’t exist. How could it be real when people like the Clarke’s were respected foster parents? But that might explain how his hair had always stayed short when he was younger, before he realized that was one of the reasons people were always mad at him. It would also explain how he seemed to have just appeared in completely different spots when he was fleeing from a bully, or an older kid that was upset he had made the Clarke’s mad. Or whatever foster family it was at the time.

He looked at the man, who seemed to be losing every bit of his patience. “Sir, I don’t understand.” Ari believed that was probably the safest response to this all. 

“Mr. Smith, have you ever done anything you couldn’t explain? For example, walked away unharmed from something that should have hurt you.” Ari nodded. “That was magic, as you are a wizard. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry automatically takes note of any children who perform magic in the United Kingdom and enrolls them. Then when the child is set to start secondary school, they are sent a letter to inform them of their spot at Hogwarts. If the child comes from a non-magical family, a professor is sent to explain the magical world to the child and their parents, and often take them to Diagon Alley for the first time. I am the professor who was sent to explain the magical world to you.” 

Ari still didn’t believe that magic was real, and was apprehensive of going anywhere with the man. However he couldn’t go back to the Clarke’s. The professor, if he really was a professor, sighed and took out the stick again. He waved it at some garbage bins which started to shake and lift up. Then the bins spun in a circle in the air. Ari could not believe his eyes. It was amazing. Magic was real, but Ari was still unsure if he was magical. He decided it was better to not bring up that point with the man.

“What is Diagon Alley, sir?” 

“The shopping strip for the magical world in London. We will be going there now.” Ari panicked. He didn’t have any money. 

“Sir, I do not have any money.” 

“Hogwarts has a scholarship for students in situations similar to yours, and will pay for your supplies. It is important that all who want to may go to Hogwarts.” Ari wondered what kind of school would pay for the supplies for any children who needed it, but did not pay its professors well enough to be able to buy proper-fitting trousers. 

“How did you know I was a boy? Also the letter was addressed to Mr. Ari Smith instead of Miss Ariana Smith, how did it know?”

“Magic knows these things; I can’t quite explain it, unfortunately. A parent’s magic tends to feel it within hours of the child’s birth, and they raise the child accordingly. It is not uncommon or taboo in the wizarding world, like the Muggle, non-magical, world. I knew because of your letter, though. Would you like me to transform your dress to something else?” Ari nodded, and watched the stick wave at him. He looked down and saw he was now wearing a t-shirt and shorts, and decided he desperately wanted to belong to the wizarding world. 

“Well, we need to start, as I have many other things to do today. We will have to apparate as there is not a floo anywhere close, unfortunately.” He stuck his arm out. “Grab on.” 

Ari stared at the man, but grabbed him above the elbow. Suddenly he felt like he and every bit of air was being sucked into a vacuum; it was very unpleasant. The feeling stopped as soon as it started, but Ari still bent over and emptied his stomach on the ground. The man just sighed and waved his stick; the mess completely disappeared. Ari looked around, embarrassed over sicking up, at the place they were in. It was completely different from the alley they just left. This place was full of colour, sounds, and magic; Ari wanted to see everything. 

“We’ll go to Madame Malkin's first, I believe. That is where you will be able to buy your robes, and other clothing items on the list.” Ari nodded and was pulled into the busy shopping strip. They quickly arrived at the shop, and Ari was almost immediately ushered to a stool so his measurements could be recorded. As he was standing there, the man just looked out the window with squinted eyes. 

“What’s your subject, sir?” Ari regretted asking when the man sent him an angry look, but it dropped off his face quickly. 

“I am the Potions professor at Hogwarts, Professor Snape. That is how you will address me, or by sir as you have been doing.” Ari nodded; he learned very early on that all adults preferred to be called by a respectful title. Ari always wondered why, but it was another thing he never voiced. 

He was about to ask the professor another question, but the door jingled open. It was two men and a boy probably around Ari’s age; one man was attractive, tall, and had long black hair while the other man was not as obviously attractive, also tall, and had shorter, messy black hair. Ari wondered if they were brothers. The boy was taller than Ari, had dark red hair, and hazel eyes. The trio greeted Professor Snape happily, and the man seemed a little less angry at the world. 

The second man sent the boy to the stool by Ari’s, and he smiled and greeted Ari. 

“Hi, I’m Henry! I just received my Hogwarts letter yesterday, and I’m here to buy my robes.” Ari nodded and tried out a smile. 

“I’m Ari. Professor Snape gave me my letter today, and I’m here to buy my robes too.” Ari beamed. 

“It’s exciting to meet someone new that will be in our year! What house do you hope to be in? Why are you calling Uncle Sev ‘Professor Snape’ before the term starts?” 

“He doesn’t know what houses you are referring to, and he’s calling me Professor Snape because he is respectful, unlike you. You have too much of your father in you to be respectful.” Professor Snape sneered and rolled his eyes, but Ari thought it must be a joke between the two because Henry grinned. The boy had smiled more in the short interaction than Ari had ever seen. 

The man with the longer hair came up behind Professor Snape and threw his arm around the man’s neck. “How can anyone respect you, when you’re wearing my trousers?” Professor Snape looked down at his trousers and cursed. He glared at the man, who just laughed in response. Professor Snape snapped something in response, but Ari couldn’t hear it over the noise surrounding him. Henry just grinned at Ari. 

“Uncle Sev and Uncle Siri are dating, but their whole relationship is built on fighting according to my da. It’s funny most of the time, but sometimes they get really mad at each other.” Henry’s smile dropped after his last statement, but he shrugged off the sadness to smile again. “Sometimes I help Uncle Siri play a prank on Uncle Sev, and that’s loads of fun.” 

Ari and Henry continued to talk for the rest of the time they were being fitted for their robes, and then shopped for the rest of their list together. Ari thought he and Henry were becoming very good friends, which was new to Ari; he made one friend in primary school but that had ended with Ari moved to a different family. He vowed never to make another friend because it hurt too much to leave them, but it would be different with Henry. They could stay friends throughout all of secondary school because there was no chance of moving in the middle of the term at a boarding school. 

Ari didn’t know it, but Henry was also quickly coming to view Ari as his new best friend. Henry had friends that he enjoyed talking to, but he hadn’t connected with them as much as he had with Ari. When the two boys only had a wand left on their list, James and Sirius left them to go into Ollivanders alone; James and Sirius knew it would take a while, and had things they needed to do. So the boys were ordered to wait outside if they finished before Sirius and James finished their business or Professor Snape came back from talking to Dumbledore; Professor Snape had left Ari with the others shortly after Madame Malkin's to discuss what to do with Ari until the beginning of term. 

They walked into Ollivander’s wand shop and looked around at the slightly odd shop. A few seconds later, a slightly odd man came out from the back. Ari thought he fit with the shop. The man blinked and let out a small breath. “Mr. Potter, I have been expecting you.” Then he looked at Ari. “Ah, a friend. Also coming for your first wand?” Ari nodded, but he wondered how the old man had known Henry. “Well come forward and present your wand arms.” 

Mr. Ollivander took some measurements and came back with two wands for both of them; when the boys each waved the wands slightly, the shop saw destruction. Then after instruction from Mr. Ollivander, switched wands with each other to test out that wand. This process repeated for some time, before Mr. Ollivander had one box and said slowly, “I wonder,” while grabbing another box. He handed the box he had wondered about to Henry, and the same results happened with both wands. He seemed disappointed, and then extremely surprised when Ari tested the wand he had wondered about. Ari felt a cool breeze blow, and a feeling of rightness washed over him. 

“Curious, very curious.” Mr. Ollivander looked stunned. 

“What’s curious, sir?” He swallowed and looked between the two boys. 

“How long have you known each other?”

“Just today, but it feels like our whole lives.” Henry had spoken up to answer, but Ari nodded in agreement. Mr. Ollivander nodded. 

“Lady Fate is a strange being, boys, very strange. I remember every wand I have ever sold, and the phoenix who gave up the feather in this wand’s core only gave up one other feather. It is curious, that this wand chose you, when it’s brother was the wand that killed Mr. Potter’s mother and brother. I believe it means that your destinies are intertwined, and it was not merely a coincidence that brought you together today or ushered a fast friendship.”

Henry and Ari looked at each other, and Ari was terrified that his new friend would no longer want to talk to him. Henry nodded and looked back at Mr. Ollivander, but he grabbed Ari’s hand and squeezed it. Ari left out a breath of relief; he believed that slight squeeze meant that nothing would change in their budding friendship. It took nearly a dozen more tries, but Henry finally got a wand that chose him. When they left the shop, James and Sirius were still not there, so they sat down. 

“This man named Voldemort killed my mum and brother during the war when I was baby. Voldemort was the leader of the bad guys, so it’s pretty weird that he went after me and my twin brother. The death of Harry was what killed him though, so my brother would have been pretty wicked I think. The whole thing made me and da really famous.” He looked unbearably sad, then he brightened. “My da didn’t have any brothers, but he says that Uncle Siri is the brother he never had. So I reckon, you might be the brother I never got to have since mine died when we were babies. The wand thing confirms that we are connected in some way that’s deeper than what we can see.” Ari smiled at Henry and nodded. 

They let the subject drop, and talked about other things. James came and took them to grab a spot of lunch. Sirius joined not too long after they started eating, and Professor Snape came in as they were finishing eating. He looked at Ari and requested to speak to him alone. Ari gulped and followed Professor Snape to a quiet corner; his mind was racing with thoughts of how they discovered he wasn’t actually magical and how he would never see Henry again. 

“Mr. Smith, due to there only being a month until the beginning of the new term, you will be staying with me until it is time for you to go to Hogwarts. We will conduct an extensive search for an appropriate family for you to stay with, but we will not put you in a family that would be harmful to you.” 

Ari couldn’t believe what he was hearing, and he nodded because he didn’t think he would be able to speak. “Since you will be living with me before school starts, I will permit you to not be as formal when addressing me. You may call me Severus until the school year starts, and then it will always be Professor. Understand?” Ari nodded again. “My two godsons, Henry and Draco, will be coming over for random days throughout the months, so be nice to them and I will issue them the same warning. We will be purchasing you appropriate clothes in the next few days, and if you wish, addressing your hair.” 

Ari had to work hard from beaming; today was turning out to be the best day of his life. He nodded a final time, and they walked back to the table. Severus announced to the table that Ari would be staying with him until the school year started, and Henry whooped. He hugged Ari and then Severus, while James grinned at Severus and Sirius blinked. Ari didn’t notice the lack of enthusiasm from Sirius though, he was too busy being overjoyed about the turn of luck from this morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Edited 8.3.2020 I discovered a glitch in the timeline, and changed the rest of the summer to just over a month. I'm going by the Hogwarts letter are sent at a certain time instead of a student's eleventh birthday because that's how J.K. originally wrote it for Harry, but I love the idea that you receive your letter on your elventh birthday.


	3. Trains, Hats, and Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ari goes to Hogwarts, and gets sorted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not going to make Sirius a bad guy; I was just thinking that it would probably be weird for anyone to inteact with their boyfriend's kid at first (not that Ari is techincally Severus's kid, yet).

Ari tried not to look up at Sirius as they grabbed a trolley for his trunk at King’s Cross Station, and was desperately trying to hide his anxiousness. He didn’t want to bother Sirius, as the man didn’t like him; Ari wasn’t entirely sure why Sirius didn’t like him, but it was obvious. Over the last month, Sirius almost immediately left any room Ari walked into, barely talked to him, and never joked with him like he joked with Henry and Draco. 

On one extremely fun day, though, Sirius had taken Ari to his cousin Andy’s house and there he met Tonks. Tonks was great, funny, and a Metamorphmagus so she could change her appearance anytime she wanted. After that day, Tonks came to Severus’s house and visited Ari a few more times, which was absolutely the most awesome thing to happen to Ari. She told him a lot about Hogwarts since she had just graduated from the school in June. Ari also thought it was wicked that she was accepted in the Auror program, and promised to write to him about everything cool she did while training. 

Henry and Draco had also visited a few times. They were cool too, although Draco was a bit of a snob; Severus sent Draco home early the first time he had met Ari because the blonde boy had been a bit rude concerning Ari’s difficulty understanding the textbooks. Henry loved reading, though, and had happily helped Ari understand what he was reading. Severus had answered all of his questions as well without being mean. 

Ari had been worried that Severus was going to be mean to him while he stayed with him, but the man had been great. It was undoubtedly the best month of his life. Ari was very excited to go to Hogwarts, but he didn’t want to leave Severus’s house. He was dreading next summer, as he knew Severus would not be taking him again. 

They reached the column between Platforms 9 and 10, and Ari gripped the trolley’s handle tighter. He knew there was a magical barrier he could easily pass through to go on the train, but what if he wasn’t actually magical and the barrier didn’t let him through? He felt himself start to panic, and was about to cry. He forced down the panic and stared at the column.

“Hey, is everything ok?” 

Ari looked up at Sirius and nodded, but Sirius must have seen something in his face. “It’s better to go at a bit of a run the first time.”

Sirius put one hand on Ari’s trolley and the other in the middle of Ari’s back; with Sirius pushing him slightly, Ari ran at the column and didn’t crash. They emerged on Platform 9 and 3/4, and Ari looked around the slightly crowded platform. Sirius led him to the train and helped him put his trunk on the train; then he started to reach out, stopped, and let his arm fall awkwardly. 

“Thanks for helping me. Goodbye.” Sirius nodded and Ari climbed onto the train. 

Ari found an empty compartment pretty easily, most people were still saying their goodbyes to their families, and took out _Hogwarts, A History_ to read a little more about the school. Henry and Draco were supposed to join him for the ride, but he wasn’t sure that was going to happen. He hadn’t let himself believe they would join him, so he wouldn’t be disappointed if they didn’t. 

A little while later the compartment door slid open, revealing Henry. Ari smiled at him, and Henry grinned. Henry sat down across from Ari, and took out his own book; Henry never left home without a book to read during any spare second. Ari went back to reading his book, and didn’t look up until he heard the door open. It was a boy holding a toad. 

“Neville!” 

Ari looked at Henry. Apparently the two boys knew each other. The boy smiled shyly, and walked into the compartment. 

“Hi, Henry.” 

“Neville, this is my friend Ari. Ari this is Neville. His mum is my godmother.” 

Henry bit his lip at the last statement, and Ari got the impression there was more to the story. Neville nodded at Ari.

“Hello. Can I join you?”

Ari nodded, and Neville sat down beside them. Henry and Neville started a conversation about plants, which Ari was barely following. The train started moving and Draco had not joined them. Ari was able to join the conversation when they started talking about various Muggle things, and they talked until Trevor, Neville’s toad, jumped out of the compartment when the trolley witch came through. 

They searched throughout the train for the toad, assisted by a bushy-hair girl named Hermione when they stopped by her compartment early on in the search, until they realized that they had almost reached Hogwarts. Hurrying back to their compartment, the boys quickly changed into their robes. The train was soon full of activity as they reached their destination, and an extremely tall man, Henry greeted him as Hagrid, started shouting for first years to follow him to a fleet of boats. The boys joined Hermione on a boat to travel across the lake, which made Ari slightly nervous, until he caught his first glimpse of the castle. Ari could not take his eyes off of Hogwarts, it was so beautiful. 

They reached the underground harbor, and all the first years climbed out. Neville was still looking for his toad, but Ari silently thought it was a lost cause. He was proven wrong, though, when Hagrid handed over Trevor to Neville. Ari had to bite back a chuckle when Hagrid asked Neville if he still had his toad before knocking on the castle’s door.

A tall, stern looking witch stood on the other side of the door when it opened, and Ari wondered if she was always so stern. Hagrid called her Professor McGonagall, and she led them through the entrance hall. It was bigger and grander than anything Ari had ever seen before. She led them to an empty chamber and gave a short introductory speech about Hogwarts, which Ari listened closely to so he could find some sort of clue on what the Sorting Ceremony entailed. Henry had told him there was a ceremony, but James and Sirius made up a new challenge every time Henry asked about it. It was currently the most frustrating aspect of Henry’s life as he always needed to know the answer to any mystery. 

When Professor McGonagall left without giving a clue to what the ceremony would be, Ari slumped a little. He ran his hand over his hair, now thankfully not even reaching his shoulders after Severus took him to get it cut, to smooth it down. He looked around and saw Draco standing with two very big boys, sneering at something; he looked away quickly, hoping that the blonde boy didn’t notice. He noticed that Henry was slightly pouting, and he nudged him. 

“You’ll find out the answer to your question in just a few minutes.”

“I doubt I can wait that long; Da and Uncle Siri have been making up even wilder claims on what the Sorting Ceremony entails in the last month.”

Ari was about to respond when a multitude of ghosts glided across the room, and Ari gasped. He had not honestly expected there to be ghosts, and he wasn’t sure how to feel about them being so close. Henry looked at them with wonder; he was probably excited there were so many and he was thinking of the fascinating things he could from them. One of the ghosts started talking to them, but Professor McGonagall ordered the ghosts to move along before a discussion began in earnest. 

She led them into the Great Hall, which was unlike anything Ari had ever seen. Ari was enraptured by the beauty of it all; the ceiling that seemed to show the stars outside, the thousands of candles glowing softly, the long tables adorned with golden plates and goblets, and all of the students sitting there with ghosts among them. He found Severus at the professor’s table quickly, but the man did not acknowledge Ari. Ari assumed that the Severus he had spent a month with was no longer who he would know; now it would only be Professor Snape, he determined. Hermione whispered that the ceiling was bewitched to reflect the sky outside, which Ari suddenly remembered reading about after she mentioned it. Professor McGonagall placed a stool in front of the first years, then placed a pointed hat on top of the stool; the hat was the oldest, dirtiest thing he had ever seen with fraying and patches all over as well. 

He was slightly taken aback when it twitched and a rip near the brim opened wide; then was very confused when the hat started singing. The song made it seem like they were just going to wear the hat, and then would be placed from what the hat saw in their mind. It seemed rather complicated to Ari, and he wondered how the hat knew what was going on in his head. Did all witches and wizards know what was going on in someone’s head? Ari tuned back into the song, and listened to the hat talk about the houses of Hogwarts. Then he clapped with everyone else once the hat finished his song, but he was concerned over putting the hat on. 

Professor McGonagall stepped forward, explained they were to sit on the stool when she called them forward, and started calling names off a long piece of parchment. There first was a blonde girl who seemed slightly embarrassed about being first; she was sorted into Hufflepuff after a moment. The hat sorted at least one student into each house before a name starting with “c” had come forward, and Ari continued to worry about the Sorting Hat. 

Neville, who had mentioned on the train that he thought he should be in Hufflepuff, was called forward before long, and Ari began worrying for his new friend when students started whispering about a hatstall after he had been up there for a few minutes. Finally the hat shouted, “GRYFFINDOR” and Ari blinked in surprise before clapping; he wondered why the hat didn’t take Neville’s preference into account. Then he thought about how Neville said he should be in Hufflepuff, not that he wanted to be. Draco was called forward two students after Neville, and he was sorted into Slytherin almost as soon as the hat grazed his head. 

A few students later, and Professor McGonagall called for Henry to go to the front. The entire hall became suddenly silent as Henry sat there. It took longer than most for the hat to reach its decision, but it finally shouted “RAVENCLAW”. Henry beamed as he hopped off the stool and went over to the Ravenclaw table, seemingly unconcerned over the delay in clapping. Ari wondered why people were surprised enough to not cheer for a bit over Henry’s sorting. Then Ari’s name was called after a few more students. He took a deep breath and sat on the stool; he watched the students talk amongst themselves, obviously bored of the sorting by that point and ready to eat, before the hat fell over his eyes. 

“This is shocking,” said a small voice inside his head after a few beats of silence. “Shocking and difficult. You have a hard road ahead of you, dear boy. You will face a crossroads where your decision will decide the fate of all you know. Your family will need you, so will the wizarding world; it will be a hard decision that most would not dream of making.”

“My family? I’m an orphan that was dropped off without anything other than the name Ariana. My family didn’t want me, how will they need me? Why should I care?”

“A deception will be revealed when the time is right. It will take great courage for you to choose your path. So it better be,” the hat shouted loudly for the whole hall to hear, “GRYFFINDOR!” 

Ari walked to the Gryffindor’s table, and sat next to Neville. He didn’t pay attention to the remaining few students being sorted; his mind was racing over the hat’s warning. Ari wondered if he should try and find his family, or if he should just leave them alone like they left him. Ari listened to the headmaster say a few nonsense words, and then put some food on his plate. It all looked delicious, but Ari couldn’t taste any of it with his mind so full of turmoil. 

He followed Percy up to the Gryffindor common room, and tried to focus on the beauty of the castle again. He forced his thoughts to the back of his mind, and looked around. He discovered that Professor McGonagall would be his Head of House, which made him slightly nervous, and a sudden thought struck him as Percy was talking about the stairs leading to the girl’s room. Professor McGonagall was delivering a strict warning to two red-headed boys, and he rushed to her when she finished, slightly embarrassed and worried over the question he needed to ask. 

“Professor, I’ve only just realized and thought I should ask. Will I be in the boy’s or girl’s dormitory?” 

He swallowed, afraid of the answer and possible judgement. Professor Snape said it wouldn’t be a problem with most people, but Ari thought it could become an issue with anybody who grew up in the Muggle world. Professor McGonagall’s face softened. 

“The boy’s dormitory, and if any of them have anything to say about it, bring it to me Mr. Smith. I will not tolerate any awful reactions over this matter.” 

Ari nodded and thanked the woman; he suddenly wasn’t as nervous for her being the Gryffindor Head of House. She inclined her head in acceptance, and shooed him off toward the group of first years again. Ari went into the dormitory he was sharing with Neville and three other boys. He laid down in the bed, but sleep wouldn’t come. Today was an eventful day, and he hoped the rest of his time would be more pleasant. Not that anything other than the hat’s message had been unpleasant really, nor had the hat tried to be unpleasant; Ari just really wished he could tell someone about the whole ordeal. 

Ari didn’t know when sleep overtook him, but he woke up alarmed that he was going to be late. So he hurried through a morning routine, got lost going to the Great Hall, and barely made it to breakfast on time. He ate fast, but stopped eating, though, surprised when two owls dropped a letter for him. One was from Sirius and the other from Tonks, both congratulating him on his house placement; he wondered how they both knew already. He shoved the letters in his bag to write a thank you note later. Then McGonagall gave everyone their timetables, and Ari scanned it for any classes shared with Henry. It looked like Gryffindor shared History of Magic/Charms with Ravenclaw, Defense Against the Dark Arts/Transfiguration/Potions with Slytherin, and Herbology/Astronomy with Hufflepuff. 

He heard someone groan loudly, and looked over to a red-headed boy that seemed to be close to his age. A couple of other people looked his way as well, and the boy looked at the first years around him. 

“Well, it's rubbish, isn’t it, that we have double Potions with the Slytherins Fridays?”

“Why’s that, Ron?” a girl asked him. 

“Because Snape doesn’t like Gryffindors, and he’s Slytherin’s Head of House. He always favours them according to Fred and George, so it’s bound to be awful.” 

Ari looked down at his breakfast. Severus didn’t like Gryffindor? That means he would no longer like Ari, and any small chance of Ari staying with again was completely dashed away. At least Tonks didn’t seem to care that he was in Gryffindor, but she had a cool new life she was just starting. She would probably forget about him by the end of the year. Ari continued eating, wondering who else he had met over the last month would no longer want to talk to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Edited 8.6.2020 - I fixed some grammatical errors, and changed Ari's schedule from having Transfiguration alone to with the Slytherins. After some critical thinking concering the schedule, there is no possible way that any of the houses have a class alone; there is not enough teachers for that.


	4. Just A Friday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dreaded Potions class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So first, I am not receiving any money from this story; it's just for fun. Saying that, I copied a lot of Snape's dialouge from the first book.
> 
> I made some adjustments to the previous chapters; just timeline things and re-grouping the classes. I know the book says that Gryffindor and Slytherin only share one class the first year, but I wanted to add to the shared classes. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!

Ari walked into his first class at Hogwarts, Charms with Ravenclaw, and discovered he was one of the first people to arrive at class. He had finished his breakfast quickly, and left in search of the Charms classroom without waiting on any of his fellow Gryffindor classmates. He sat in the middle of the classroom, away from any of the other students who had gotten there early, and took out his book. He was excited, but now he had a gloominess he couldn’t shake from the conversation at breakfast this morning. 

He was skimming over the chapter when he felt someone sit next to him; looking to his left, he brightened immediately at the sight of Henry. Henry smiled at him, and was visibly very excited to be in class. Henry let out a breathless chuckle.

“I can’t believe that I’m finally going to be taking a class at Hogwarts! I’ve waited for this moment since I was a kid! It’s even better that you’re here too!”

Ari was slightly used to the enthusiasm now, and chuckled. 

“Henry, you’re still a kid,” Ari pointed out.

“Yes, technically, but I’ve been waiting since I was five years old.” 

Ari nodded, and dropped the matter. “Do you know who the professor is?”

“Yes, it’s my Head of House, Professor Flitwick. I don’t know him well, but I’ve heard he is great. I was so busy discussing a book with one of the other Ravenclaws, that I forgot to write to my father last night to tell him that I was sorted into Ravenclaw, but I received a letter from Uncle Siri this morning.”

“I got a letter from Sirius as well, and one from Tonks. I didn’t write to them either.”

“Uncle Sev must have told Uncle Siri then, and he was probably around Tonks. I don’t know her that well, Uncle Siri never takes me to visit his family, what’s she like?”

“She’s funny, my side always ended up hurting from laughter after being around her for just a few moments; she’s also clever, and was able to pull a prank on Sirius. Her dad is funny too, and her mum is very kind.” 

“Excellent. It’s good that you and Uncle Siri have fun with some family.”

Ari looked down, sad; he would have loved for them to be his family, but that would never happen. 

“They’re not my family, though,” he whispered. 

Henry looked at him for a few long moments, and then nodded. He dropped the subject and started discussing the first chapter of the book until Professor Flitwick called the class to order. They did not use their wands for the first class, instead they discussed the importance of wand movement and enunciation. They were given five questions to answer by their next class when the bell rang, and Ari was very glad that he had read some of his textbooks before school started or he would have been very confused. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first year's timetables were spread out so that the students would have enough time to find their class before the bell rang, but Ari pushed that limit a few times. He got lost multiple times in the huge school, but so did most of the first years. Ari woke up on Friday feeling anxious about where he might end up that day when trying to find his class, and looked at his timetable. His anxiousness rose nearly three times higher when he saw it was Potions that morning. 

He hurried down to the Great Hall for breakfast, and sat beside Neville. Neville looked green, and Ari patted him on the shoulder; Neville smiled at him weakly then looked back down to his plate. Ron had been talking about how awful Professor Snape was to Gryffindor all week, only stopping when his older brother, the Prefect Percy, came around. Ron seemed to reveal in the attention he was receiving from his horror stories that his brothers had told him. The only time Ron didn’t go on and on about Professor Snape was when he was asking Ari about Henry; apparently he wanted to be friends with Henry and begged for information from Ari to better go about striking up that friendship. 

Ari and Neville finished breakfast and walked down to the dungeons for Potions; there was already a small gathering of students at the door. Neville and Ari were talking to each other, well Ari was reminding Neville of the details of the first chapter of their Potions textbook, when Draco walked up with the two huge boys that seemed to be his bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle. Ari had shared a few classes with the Slytherins so far, and Draco had not acknowledged him; the blonde boy had only interacted with the Gryffindors to laugh when they answered a question wrong or a teacher called them out for misbehaviour. Ari had stopped believing that he could be friends with the blonde boy, he was very obviously not interested. 

For reasons Ari did not know, Draco and Ron hated each other. Ron was always bad mouthing the Slytherins, but usually he targeted Draco. It was uncomfortable to be around, and Ari and Neville had started sitting far away from the red-haired boy when they were in a class Gryffindor shared with Slytherins. Percy had tried to stop Ron, threatening a letter to their mother, when Ron had been particularly vicious at dinner once, but Ron just turned his sharp tongue on Percy; not that he had spoken loud enough for Percy to hear him though, mind you. 

The doors to the potion lab opened, and Ari sat down at a bench on the right side of the room with Neville. Ari took out his book to skim it before the lesson started, but looked up when a shadow fell over his book. It was Draco looking at him; Ari was glad Draco wasn’t sneering, but he was a little uneasy as to why Draco was there. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting at the table across the room, so at least it would only be Draco threatening them. 

“Ari, I would like to join you at this table.” 

Ari looked at him confused. Why did he want to sit here? There were only two spots left, so Crabbe and Goyle wouldn’t be able to sit here. 

“Why?”

Draco turned slightly pink and looked around the room. He leaned down to whisper, “Uncle Sev will be mad at me if he finds out that I’ve been ignoring you and Henry. I’m sorry for that, by the way. I didn’t mean to, I just became slightly obsessed with climbing to the top of the Slytherin social ladder.”

Ari looked at him, not entirely believing Draco. 

“Sure, but why are you not obsessed with your social status still?” 

Draco’s face blushed even more. “A fifth year student had a problem with my attitude, and her father is friends with mine. My father will probably hear about the interaction soon. My father told me to not focus on only Slytherins, but try to gain allies in each house; he wants to show everyone that we are not dark wizards. I was focusing on my own reputation instead of the Malfoy family reputation.” 

Ari nodded; it wasn’t the best reason to want to sit with them, but it also wasn’t the worst. “Ok, you can sit here if you want.”

Draco smiled and sat down to Harry’s left; there was one seat left at the end of the table, next to Neville. The spot was filled in a few minutes by Hermione, who often sat next to Neville in their classes, especially if Ari was sitting next to someone else. She introduced herself to Draco, who was stilted but polite.

“You are a Muggle-born?” 

Ari felt Neville tense up, and wondered why. It seemed as if the boy was ready to fight Draco, which made Ari tense as well. Draco noticed, and his eyes widened. 

“It’s true that my parents used to be obsessed with blood purity, but my godfather has told me that blood purity is useless. Mr. Potter told me that focusing on blood purity is how wizards will eventually become extinct. So I’m forming my own opinion. I didn’t mean to be rude.”

Severus had told him about the idea of blood purity, and Ari thought it was useless as well. Neville relaxed and Hermione happily discussed the Muggle world until Professor Snape walked in. It was a very dramatic entrance that succeeded in intimidating most of the class, other than Ari and Draco who both were slightly amused about it. Severus enjoyed being dramatic from what Ari noticed over the month he stayed with the man. Professor Snape called roll, and gave a dramatic speech; Ari wondered how anyone could think potion making wasn’t magic when the man mentioned it. Ari loved watching the potions brew when he could, and Severus had let him watch fairly often, while sprinkling in teaching throughout the process. Ari swallowed and looked down as he remembered that Professor Snape probably hated him because he was in Gryffindor. 

“Mr. Weasley!” Professor Snape said so suddenly that Ari’s head snapped up. “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”

Ari remembered reading about that, and thought the answer had something to do with sleeping. Hermione’s hand shot up, and Ari had been in enough classes with her to not be surprised. Professor Snape ignored her, though, and continued to focus on Ron. 

“I don’t know,” Ron said, sounding slightly irritated. 

Professor Snape narrowed his eyes at the red-headed boy, and Draco muttered, “Idiot,” under his breath. Ari agreed with Draco; Professor Snape would be beginning to become angry himself now. Maybe Draco was calling Ron an idiot for not knowing though, if that was the case, then Ari didn’t agree; he only thought the boy was an idiot for his tone. 

“Clearly having five older brothers didn’t help your magical knowledge. Let’s see if you know this one. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?” 

Ari knew this one, in the stomach of a goat; it was just disgusting enough to stick with the boy. Hermione’s hand was even higher now, waving; Ari thought he would be slightly annoyed if he was her professor. 

“I don’t know,” Ron said, this time rudely. 

Professor Snape’s nostrils flared, and Ari slumped down in his seat slightly. During his month staying with the man, he had never seen him truly angry, but he had seen this exact look on his face before. Sirius had gulped, apologized for whatever he had done, and took Ari to the Potter’s in response. Mr. Potter had just grounded Henry the day before, so Ari had sat in the library reading the entire time; he had been confused and upset at the time, but was now very grateful that Sirius had taken him away to avoid causing the man to truly blow up. 

“Did you expect your brothers’ reputations would cause me to not notice your future lack of effort, Mr. Weasley?”

Professor Snape was intently focused on Ron now, and Ari wanted to look but couldn’t. It was like a car crash. 

“What is the difference, Mr. Weasly, between monkshood and wolfsbane?” 

Ari thought they might be the same plant, but he was absolutely sure monkshood and aconite were the same plant. He couldn’t remember the relationship to aconite and wolfsbane, though. Hermione was basically out of her seat, so intent to answer the question; it made Ari anxious watching her. 

“I don’t know. Try someone else, why don’t you?” 

Ari felt his stomach fall to his feet; if Professor Snape didn’t hate Gryffindor before he surely hated them now. Ari also hoped that he would never see that look of rage on the man’s face again; it was very frightening. The room was dead silent; any student who would have chuckled felt the laugh die on their lips at the rage pouring off the dark man in waves. 

“Five points from Gryffindor, Mr. Weasley, and detention for the next week for your cheek. If you so much as look at your cauldron unkindly, I will fail you for the day and bar you from my class until I am sufficiently satisfied your attitude has changed. Do you understand?”

Ari thought it was even more intimidating that Professor Snape never raised his voice, but instead spoke in a deadly whisper. Ron must have thought so too, because he nodded rapidly with wide eyes. Neville whimpered beside him, and Hermione had stopped raising her hand. Professor Snape nodded, and turned his back on Ron. 

“Asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. I wonder if all of you already knew this so you do not need to write it down, or if you believe I speak just to hear myself.”

The sounds of quills writing filled the classroom, and he continued to lecture for a while. Then the class was set to brew a simple potion to help with boils. Draco and Ari were working together, and Draco bossed Ari around throughout the entire process. Professor Snape had come to their table, and was in the middle of complimenting their potion, when his hand snapped out and grabbed Neville’s wrist. Neville jumped and paled, while Hermione turned back around at the very same second and put a lecturing face on. 

“Oh Neville, you’re not supposed to add the porcupine quills yet. They don’t go in until the cauldron leaves the fire.”

“Indeed, Miss Granger. Mr. Longbottom be more careful, that could have been a very painful learning experience.”

Professor Snape walked away, and Neville’s breath hitched. 

“It’s alright, Neville; nothing bad happened,” Ari said trying to be comforting

Ari wondered why Professor Snape would not yell at them if he hated Gryffindor so much. Ari decided that Ron had been over-extraggating how mean Professor Snape was because Ron hated the Slytherins on principle. Ari still wasn’t going to chance it and try to talk to Professor Snape outside of class, though; he had learnt at a very young age to be wary of adults when warned about them. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ari was eating dinner when he felt a hand grab his shoulder. He looked up at Ron, who looked furious. The disastrous Potions class ended hours ago, but Ron was apparently still upset. Ari wondered why Ron was mad at him. 

“You’re a traitor, orphan.”

“Excuse me?” Ari’s confusion was only growing instead of clearing up. 

“You sat with a Slytherin today during Potions; you, Neville, and Hermione. You were the one who talked to Malfoy the most, though, so you’re a traitor, orphan.” 

“You’re repeating yourself now, Weasley,” a voice said coldly. 

Ari looked back and saw it was Henry. Ari was surprised that Henry could speak so coldly; all he had ever heard and seen from the boy was warmth and joy with the occasional sadness for a sentence. It was slightly frightening to see something different. 

“What’s it to you, Potter?”

“Well, you insulted my friend for talking to one of my other friends. I reckon that makes it my concern.”

Ari wanted to avoid the confrontation to go on any longer, so he spoke up. 

“I’m not a traitor. It’s ok to talk to people outside of your house.”

“Absolutely. Are you done Ari? I was hoping to go to the library before curfew.”

Ari nodded and stood up. They walked to the library together. Henry was back to his usual upbeat and cheery self. They sat towards the back and took out their books, and worked on their homework. Hermione soon joined them at their table, and Henry greeted her. Henry seemed distracted, and Hermione asked him about it.

“Someone broke into Gringotts on my birthday, which alone is fascinating because Gringotts is known for its security, and most people would never dream of breaking into the bank. There was a new article about it today in the paper, I’ve been keeping up with the story because I love a good mystery, and I was trying to discuss the article with Hagrid. However, he was being fairly suspicious about it. I want to know what he knows.”

“Professor McGonagall took my family and I into Gringotts when we were with her at Diagon Alley; she emptied a vault, saying it was Hogwarts business. She did not like that I had joined her on the errand, but I was desperate to see the vaults.”

“Yes, anything that Hogwarts kept there would be a likely target for the thieves.”

Henry looked gleeful, and Ari rolled his eyes at the boy’s obvious thrill of the mystery. He only hoped that they only discussed the mystery break-in instead of trying to learn what the thieves were after in other ways.


	5. Real Rollercoaster of a Thursday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flying lessons, possible expulsion, Snape yelling, and a monster. If this is a regular day at Hogwarts, count Ari out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some dialouge and descriptions taken straight from the books. I don't own Harry Potter and am not making money from this story.

Ari was enjoying life at Hogwarts, and was very excited when he saw the notice on the Gryffindor common room notice board. They were going to start flying lessons that week! Ari went to breakfast with Neville, with a slight spring in his step, but tried to tamper down his excitement when he saw how anxious Neville was. By Thursday, Hermione seemed anxious as well, and kept reciting facts about flying and Quidditch; Neville seemed desperate to try and gather as many tips as possible for flying.

Ari listened with only a half an ear to Hermione, and excitedly watched the owls swoop in for the mail delivery. He was expecting a letter from Tonks soon with the details of her latest adventure, and was very happy when her owl dropped a letter for him. Then Sirius’s owl dropped a letter and small package off in front of Ari, which surprised Ari; to be fair Sirius had written to Ari a few more times since he started Hogwarts and each time he sent a small package of sweets. Ari tore open Tonk’s letter and was reading the riveting details of her latest training adventure when Neville made a noise of excitement. 

Looking over, Ari watched Neville open a small package himself and pulled out a small glass ball. Ari looked at it with curiosity because it seemed to be full of white smoke. Neville was certainly excited about it, though, and started explaining to Ari what it was. It was a Remembrall according to Neville, and it’s smoke turns red if the person holding it forgot to do something. Ari was watching the smoke turn red as Neville demonstrated when Ron came up to the pair; he snatched the ball out of Neville’s hand. Ari jumped to his feet ready to defend his friend when Professor Snape spoke up. 

“Mr. Weasley, are you causing trouble?”

Ron scowled and dropped the Remembrall, “No, I was just looking.” 

Professor Snape watched Ron walk to the end of the table before turning to Ari. He arched one eyebrow at Ari. 

“Do not go looking for a fight with Weasley. It will not do you any good.” 

Ari nodded and looked away from the man. He was still avoiding Professor Snape even though the man was never particularly mean to him during Potions, but he did have a lot to say to the other Gryffindors. 

“I will need to see you in my office after your flying lesson today, Mr. Smith,” he swept away after delivering that sentence and Ari swallowed. 

He wondered why the man wanted to see him in his office; he hadn’t done anything wrong that he knew of. He sat down and opened Sirius’s letter, hoping to find the answer there. It was just a letter asking Ari about what was happening at Hogwarts, and Ari threw it on the table disgusted. Then he realized that Professor Snape probably had found a family for him, and that’s why the man wanted to talk to him. Happy to solve that mystery, Ari turned back to Tonk’s letter. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That afternoon Ari hurried with the other Gryffindors to the grounds where the flying lessons would be taking place. The Slytherins were already there, and Ari went over to Draco. He stepped next to one of the twenty brooms lying neatly on the ground and greeted Draco. He was talking silently with Draco when Madam Hooch arrived; her eyes were yellow like a bird, and Ari wondered if they had some special power. 

She ordered everyone to stand by a broom with a loud and sharp voice. Ari looked at his broom, and thought it looked very old. He wondered if brooms were supposed to look like that. Madam Hooch’s voice tore him away from his thoughts when she instructed everyone on how to summon their brooms. Ari stuck his right hand out over the broom and took a deep breath. 

He shouted, “UP!”

Ari stared in wonder as his broom jumped into his hand, and looked around. His was one of the few brooms that instantly obeyed his command. He watched as everyone else tried and tried until they finally got their brooms to come up. Then Madam Hooch showed everyone how to mount their brooms, adjusting nearly everyone’s grip. Once she was happy with everyone’s grip, she instructed everyone to kick off from the ground on her whistle, rise a few feet, and then come straight down by slightly leaning forward. 

Neville, though, kicked off slightly early and too hard; Ari watched as Neville rose much higher than he should have. Ari gulped when Neville, pale as a ghost, looked down at the ground and gasped; Ari looked away as Neville slipped sideways off the broom and fell to the ground. Ari winced at the loud WHAM and terrible crack that he knew to be a bone breaking. He looked over to see Neville lying facedown on the ground, while his broomstick kept rising and drifted towards the forbidden forest. 

Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, and muttered something. She turned to the rest of the class, and sternly warned them to stay on the ground while she took Neville to the hospital wing. Ari wondered why she ever thought a group of first years would heed her warning, and didn’t just send another student with Neville. It wasn’t long before chatter broke out and a couple of people started laughing at Neville’s fate. Ari watched as Ron, one of the loudest amongst the jeering crowd, darted over and snatched something off the ground. 

“Look, the traitor dropped this! It’s the thing he got from his gran this morning!” Ron raised the Remembrall high. 

Ari felt his blood pumping in his ears and stepped forward, “Give it here, Ron. Neville’s not a traitor to Gryffindor, and you need to stop saying he is.”

Ron narrowed his eyes at Ari, “Why would I listen to you, orphan? You’re the biggest traitor amongst Gryffindor! I mean you’re standing next to Malfoy right now.”

The rest of the group was watching intently now. Ron looked around and decided to keep a hold of his moment of fame, apparently. 

“Look, since he’s a fellow Gryffindor, I’ll leave it where he’ll easily be able to find it. If he’s brave enough to grab it will be another story. How about in that gargoyle’s hand?” 

Ron mounted his broomstick again, and Hermione stood next to him with her mouth wide open in shock. 

“Give it here!” Ari shouted, and went to his broom as well. 

He hesitated before mounting, especially when Draco shook his head no, but Ron had started taking off towards the gargoyle. Ron had mentioned quite a few times about how wonderful he was on a broom, but Ari didn’t think he was that great. Ari hopped onto the broom and shot off after Ron. Ari felt the air rush by him, his robes whip out behind him, and a sudden surge of pure joy; flying was wonderful, and he found himself wondering how he would ever be able to find something as spectacular as this. 

He quickly caught up to Ron, and turned his broomstick sharply to face the red-head, while marveling at the fact he could fly so easily without being taught. Ron looked stunned and yelped. 

“Give me the ball and quit being such a jerk to your housemates!” Ari yelled. 

Ron sneered and called back, “At least I know which house I’m in! Go and get it for your fellow traitor, then!” 

Ron threw the glass ball and hurried towards the ground. Ari saw the ball in slow motion and knew where it would begin to fall. He leaned forward and pointed his broom downwards, he gathered speed quickly in a steep dive, racing towards the ball, overjoyed by the feeling, and reached his hand out. Nearly on the ground, he caught the ball, and barely had time to pull his broom straight; he toppled onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist. Ari was laying on the grass, panting, amazed at how great flying felt and how he seemed to instinctively know what to do. 

“ARI SMITH!” 

Ari felt his heart sink, and knew it that moment he would never be able to fly again. Professor McGonagall was running towards them, and Ari mentally cursed himself over being the one who took off from the ground. 

“ _Never - in all my time at Hogwarts -” she was almost speechless with shock, and her eyes flashed, “ - how _dare_ you - might have broken your neck -” _

_Ari gulped and listened to two of his classmates try and defend him, but Professor McGonagall cut them off. She was furious, and Ari was not going to find any mercy with her. She ordered him to follow her, and he did, walking numbly after her. Thoughts of expulsion flashed through his mind, and Ari knew he would never be able to justify what he had done. Professor McGonagall swept through the castle without a look towards Ari, and he had to jog just to keep up. She kept going through the castle, until she stopped in front of a classroom. She asked Professor Flitwick for wood, and Ari blinked in surprise. What did she need wood for? Was she going to strap him? Was that allowed at Hogwarts?_

_Wood turned out to be a person that Ari had seen around the common room and halls; a burly fifth year and looked as confused as Ari. Professor McGonagall ordered them both to follow her, and directed them into an empty classroom. Well almost empty, Peeves was in there writing rude words on the blackboard, and pouted when Professor McGonagall kicked him out. She shut the door behind him and turned to face the two boys._

_“Smith, this is Oliver Wood. Wood - I’ve found you a Seeker.”_

_Wood’s expression turned into delight, but Ari was still confused._

_“Really?”_

_“Absolutely. The boy’s a natural. I’ve never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broom, Smith?”_

_He nodded, and watched the two discuss what he had just done. He vaguely knew what Quidditch was, but he had never seen a game. Professor McGonagall and Wood, who was captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team apparently, started talking about getting him a broom, and how they needed a better team than last year. Professor McGonagall told him that he had better train hard, or she would rethink not punishing him. Ari nodded, still slightly bewildered, but glad he wasn’t going to be expelled. He made plans with Wood for his first practice and was told to keep it a secret that he would be on the team._

_He was walking out of the classroom when a paper airplane flew into his head; he bent down to pick it up and read it. It was from Professor Snape saying that something had come up, and he would need to reschedule their meeting to a later time. Ari couldn’t believe his luck, and rushed to the library. Henry was sitting there glaring at his books. Ari briefly wondered if he should wait to tell the boy about his exciting news, but decided he couldn’t wait._

_“Guess what?” he whispered._

_“What?” Henry whispered back._

_“I’m going to be a Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.”_

_Henry looked surprised, “How?”_

_Ari told him the whole story, and Henry looked shocked. Then his friend congratulated him, and they talked about Quidditch until dinner. Henry was an avid fan, but could never picture himself playing the sport. He had been flying since he was small, though, and gave Ari some great pointers. They walked into the Great Hall together and then went to their respective tables._

_As he sat down, Ron sneered at him, “This your last meal before going back to the orphanage?”_

_Ari ignored him, and started eating. Apparently ignoring the red-head was a sure way to enrage him because his ears turned pink._

_“Thank goodness that Gryffindor is getting rid of you, though. I would hate for our house to be sullied by a Slytherin lover.”_

_“Oh shut it, Ron. Ari, how did you do that today?” Lavender Brown asked him excitedly._

_“You really shouldn’t encourage him. He could have lost our house points, all because he needed to prove a point. It was really selfish of him,” Hermione Granger interjected._

_“It was wicked of him, you mean,” Seamus said._

_A throat cleared above them, and everybody paled. Ari looked up to see Professor Snape, and the man looked furious._

_“Weasley, if I hear you say such awful comments to your housemates again, I will take points. Everyone else, do quit encouraging rule-breaking. Today’s events are off limits to be discussed like this. Mr. Smith, come to my office as soon as you are finished eating.”_

_Professor Snape swept off, and Ari felt his stomach fill with lead. He ate a few more bites, then slunk off towards the dungeons. The entire way he wondered how Professor Snape would punish him for today’s events, then he would wonder how Professor Snape had the authority to punish him for the event. He knocked on the office door and it opened._

_Ari walked in and stood in front of Professor Snape, who gestured to a chair without looking up from the paper he was grading. After what felt like hours, Professor Snape looked up from his paper to pierce Ari with a look that was unbelievably furious._

_“What were you thinking?” he whispered._

_Ari swallowed, and started to answer. Professor Snape cut him before he could though._

_“Don’t even try to justify your actions. That stunt was unbelievably foolish and dangerous. No trinket is worth your life, Ari. The fact you were rewarded a spot on your house Quidditch team instead of punished is unbelievable. If you were in my house, you would be on a train headed home at this very moment. Unbelievable!”_

_The last word was the only that was shouted, and Ari jumped at the sudden change in volume._

_“You could have been hurt, Ari! Do you even care about your own safety? Does your safety matter so little to you that you risked your life for a ball?”_

_Ari shook his head violently._

_“Really? Because it seems like it does.”_

_Ari felt his eyes burn with unshed tears, and he wondered when they had sprung into his eyes. Ari didn’t register the floo flaring to life in the corner of the office, and as such was confused when Sirius walked up to Severus and whispered to him. Severus glared at the two of them, and stormed out of the room. Sirius looked over at Ari with his brow furrowed before walking over._

_“You scared him, that’s why he’s yelling at you.”_

_Ari was confused. How had he scared Professor Snape? The man had no connection to Ari other than the month he had stayed with him over the summer, and that was erased when he was sorted into Gryffindor._

_“Why does that confuse you?”_

_Ari looked away, and said quietly, “Because he doesn’t owe me anything and I was sorted into Gryffindor.”_

_“Is that why you’ve been avoiding him?”_

_Ari looked over surprised, and Sirius rolled his eyes._

_“You apparently won’t look him in the eye, and you haven’t accepted any of Henry or Draco’s offers to have tea with them. It wasn't that hard to figure out that you were avoiding him for some reason.”_

_“Yes,” Ari whispered in response to the earlier question._

_Sirius rolled his eyes again, “You know that I was in Gryffindor, right? So was James and Lily.”_

_He had known, but it was different for them. Ari looked away again, grateful that he was no longer about to cry. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up at Sirius. Sirius frowned at him._

_“He doesn’t think anything about what house you are in, Ari. He cares for you, and it hurts him that you’re avoiding him.”_

_“Why?”_

_Sirius jerked a little, “Why what?”_

_“Why does he care about me? And why does it hurt him?”_

_“He cares about you because you’re a good kid, usually, and you don’t have anyone else to care about you. It hurts because he doesn’t know why you’re avoiding him.”_

_“He’s finding another family to adopt me, though.”_

_Sirius snorted, “I thought you were supposed to be a bright kid. He’s going to find a fault in every single family presented to him, and you’ll be staying with him for another summer. Same thing will happen next year, and the year after that.”_

_Ari tried to squash down the hope that bloomed over Sirius’s statement; it wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true. Ari stayed in the office and apologized to Professor Snape when he came back in. Sirius made tea, and the three of them talked about what Ari was looking for in his family. Ari didn’t really have any specific requirements other than they let him be a boy. It was nearly midnight when Professor Snape realized it had gotten very late. He had to patrol a completely different section of the castle, so he wrote Ari a note explaining the lateness and walked Ari to the second floor. He told Ari to go straight to the Gryffindor common room, and frowned before leaving the boy._

_Ari was about to go up the stairs to the floor of the Gryffindor common room, but he caught sight of Henry walking towards the forbidden third floor corridor. He walked over, and Henry jumped._

_“What are you doing?” he whispered._

_“I believe the Gringotts robbery has something to do with this corridor, so I’m breaking in.”_

_“Why tonight?”_

_“Why not? _Alohomora_ ”_

_Ari followed Henry into the now unlocked corridor. They crept through, ears straining for any sound, and Ari thought he heard breathing. He lit his wand and saw a monster. It was huge with three heads, it was standing still staring at them and menacingly growling. Ari gulped and grabbed Henry’s arm; Henry pulled them out of the corridor and slammed the door shut. They ran up to the fifth floor, and went into an unused classroom._

_“Why did you want to go in there, Henry?” Ari whispered harshly._

_Henry’s eyes were bright with excitement, “You saw it was standing on a trapdoor, right? It’s guarding something! I was right!”_

_Ari couldn’t believe him, they had nearly died so Henry could see if he was right, “I’m going to bed, and so should you!”_

_Ari swept out of the room and hurried to the Gryffindor tower, and went straight to bed. Today had been one of the most confusing and emotional days of his life, and Ari was not keen on repeating the experience. He also never wanted to see that dog in his life, but he had a feeling Henry was just getting started with his investigation._


End file.
